Russia: Department of State Updated Statement

The Department of State has updated their statements on intercountry adoption with Russia. The text of the statement follows.

We have received no official notification that adoptions of Russian orphans by Americans have been suspended, but it is clear the recent controversy has slowed down adoptions in some parts of the country.

The United States is sending a delegation to hold talks with Russian officials, now scheduled to take place on April 29 in Moscow. The United States plans to emphasize the importance of intercountry adoptions between our two countries, and will discuss our mutual concerns about how to better protect the welfare and rights of children and all parties involved in the intercountry adoption process. On April 25, Secretary of State Clinton spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. The issue of adoptions was raised. They discussed our shared commitment to the common goal of protecting the welfare and rights of children and all parties involved in intercountry adoptions.

Many thousands of Russian children have found loving, safe and permanent homes in the United States through intercountry adoption. Families in the United States have adopted more than 50,000 children from Russia.

If you have completed an adoption in Russia and have an immigrant visa appointment at the U.S. embassy in Moscow:

The U.S. embassy in Moscow is continuing to schedule and issue immigrant visas for adopted children using normal processing procedures. Contact the embassy at MoscowConsularR@state.gov to schedule an appointment. Please also stay in close touch with your adoption service provider.

If you have a court appointment to finalize your child’s adoption in Russia:

Many adoption cases are continuing to move forward in the courts. We have heard of cases in which a court appointment has been postponed. If your court appointment is postponed by the court, please provide this information to us by ail at RussiaAdoption@state.gov and MoscowConsularR@state.gov. We will work with the Russian authorities to try to resolve any problems.

If you do not yet have a court date to finalize an adoption in Russia, but are in the process of adopting from Russia: Please stay in close contact with your adoption service provider, and check the adoption.state.gov website regularly for current information about intercountry adoption from Russia.